Driver 'should be in jail'

THE family whose car was written-off by a drink-driver say he should have been jailed. Simon Carre, 25, and his partner, Kelly Eborall, 18, are still suffering effects of the crash, in which uninsured guest worker Thomas Grindlay lost control of his Ford Escort Cabriolet and ploughed into them. Grindlay appeared in the Magistrate's Court this week. He was banned from driving on Guernsey roads for five years and fined a total of £2,000. He denied dangerous driving, which was dropped, but admitted driving without due care and attention. 'The outcome is not as good as I expected,' said Mr Carre, who is employed by States Works and was returning home at the time with his partner and their seven-month-old son, Corey. 'There is nothing to say that he will not do a runner back to England and that would be it. He did a lot of things wrong and I think he should have been done for dangerous driving and had a custodial sentence. 'I got back in a car on Wednesday and even when someone else just pulled out, I jumped out of my skin. The crash is still in the back of my mind.' The ban means Grindlay cannot drive within the Bailiwick of Guernsey - but it does not relate to the UK. Mr Carre suffered abdominal bruising, whiplash and problems with his knee, which he hit on the dashboard. The other vehicle struck his Renault 5 Turbo on the driver's side corner, folding in the dashboard. The impact forced it against the pavement and then back about 10ft. The Ford scraped down its side and pushed in the back of the car by about five inches, splitting the baby seat in which Corey was asleep. 'I heard a bang and then there was a flash. I saw the car sliding towards me. I tried to pull over, but it hit us, pushing us back. 'I was thrown forward at first and probably blacked out for a moment as we hit. I was in agony and shouted out the window at the other car.' He had to climb out of the window because the door had folded in. 'My first thought was for the nipper in the back and to get him out. The car seat was split down the top and Corey was crying. He had been asleep at the time, so I think it was the initial shock. He had also been showered in glass.' Miss Eborall, who is a shop assistant, had to be helped out of the car by a passer-by. She received a large burn from the seat belt and one rib was pushed up into another from the force of the impact. She is now missing some cartilage from between the ribs. 'I think it is going to cause me more pain. I seem to be a bit worse now than immediately after the crash. 'But luckily Corey is fine. He seems to have been the lucky one.' She is having a chest X-ray to check for further injuries. The car is a complete write-off and a lot of items inside were destroyed, including the baby seat. Because the other driver was not insured, Mr Carre is worried that he will not receive compensation. 'I have got cover on my insurance that says that I can get legal representation and I can try and get something back, but I might end up with nothing,' he said. 'Mr car is demolished and several items in it and there are all the medical bills, too.' He believed that trouble resulting from drink-driving had increased since Sunday drinking and later opening were introduced. Insurance Corporation of the Channel Islands operations and claims manager Vincent Bray said that in a situation where a driver was not insured, a claimant should get legal advice, particularly if they were injured. A scheme called the Motor Insurers' Bureau operates a fund to ensure that victims of uninsured drivers are compensated. 'The other driver may or may not be able to satisfy the claims. If he can't, the bureau will step in and compensate them,' said Mr Bray. 'But if the victims' own car or other property was insured, or they have medical expenses or income protection cover, it would be wise to claim off their own insurance first, as the MIB claims usually takes some time to settle.'